I once was lost but now am found - share your story

[Treks]

Were you once a seeker, like many in this subforum, wandering from church to temple to circle to shrine, seeking your place within the tapestry of the world's religions and spiritual traditions - and some time ago you actually found that place?

What helped you find it? How did you know when you did? Was it something you were researching in five or so years ago and now you find it's part of who you are? Did you have an overnight revelation and never looked back? Did you meet someone who inspired you so that you now walk in their footsteps?

Show us seekers how you went from Seeker to Finder.

 

[shunyadragon]

Were you once a seeker, like many in this subforum, wandering from church to temple to circle to shrine, seeking your place within the tapestry of the world's religions and spiritual traditions - and some time ago you actually found that place?

What helped you find it? How did you know when you did? Was it something you were researching in five or so years ago and now you find it's part of who you are? Did you have an overnight revelation and never looked back? Did you meet someone who inspired you so that you now walk in their footsteps?

Show us seekers how you went from Seeker to Finder.

When you find the shoes that fit they are not the right shoes.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

What helped you find it? How did you know when you did? Was it something you were researching in five or so years ago and now you find it's part of who you are? Did you have an overnight revelation and never looked back? Did you meet someone who inspired you so that you now walk in their footsteps?

I never found it. Never was indoctrinated. Never had bad qualms with any religion. I'm just me. Technically? I'm an initiated Buddhist. Confirmed Catholic. Spiritually? I'm an artist. Religiously? I'm a spiritualist. Realistically?

I'm just Carlita.

What helped me find me? Self reflection and going back to what I enjoyed before I lost it due to illness and chronic depression. Brainstorming. Spending too much money on paints and canvases, journals, sticky pads, and brushes and sketch pencils. I want to incorporate art in all the decisions I make.

How did I know? It runs in the family. Mother side was painting and music (oh, I love music!) and father's side was writing and connection with nature (hunting, animals, and such). So, I took from them and the rest of my family.

Was it something I was researching?

Actually, no. When I practiced Buddhism, I was reading, studying, and practicing. Then something wasn't quite right. The spirit component that I knew growing up is not in the faith I took up. I always wanted to be a nun but never knew what Christianity meant till I became Catholic. Mistake? No. It helped me hugely on my spiritual growth. Ironic, separate from the Church helped me appreciate the Church and all religions for that matter.

A movie just stuck out "Drumline." In it, the main character's passion is playing the drums. One day his director found out he couldn't read music. Yet, his passion gave him a skill that made other people jealous. Just by watching and listening, he can mimic another person's beat. They told him he couldn't play on the field unless he can read sheet music. So his girlfriend tried to convince him to take the classes for it.

But how can you learn something you know in your heart already? I mean, is it really choosing the right clothes or do you really need to figure out your innate spiritual clothing when you were born naked. So, everything is a learning process.

Yep. My grandmother passed away in 2014. She, family in spirit, stopped me from getting hit by a car. Ever since then, I started looking back into the spirits but more in a religious way rather than daily events growing up. I went to the Spiritualist Church and actually liked it. It's about spirits, healing, and community. Very nice.

Who inspired me? Other than my parents, the only person that got it it was a Santera at a store I used to go to. We were talking about spirits just as any other topic. It was nice and refreshing to have a religious conversation where both parties speak the same language without christian influence. She knew nothing of christianity. That's rare here.

I pretty much found my niche trying not to find it. It's not something I look for, it's something I live.

 

[Yūgen]

Leave the things as they are. My graving for knowledge killed the sense to live in or with this life. I had to wander back to my child-self to find it again. The longer i havn't lived without the sense of life, the farer i had to go back. Rarely i had seen me alive. And as if this beautiful moments aren't hurtful enough to see today, I am glad they had been but i was to lay it in peace of my heart. Tho that the 'I' who i become is able to change to be better and finally deserves to be alive.

My story is somewhat unimportant to you. This is life and whenever i end to it, the beauty of life i feel from inside begins.

 

[omega2xx]

Just the opposite. Only God's truth can make your shoes comfortable..

There are a lot of good "walking" verses in the Bible. Maybe the best on is I Jn 2:6 - Walk in the same manner as He(Jesus) walked.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I was lost for a very small period, of just a few minutes. As a doubting Thomas, my problem was being that for most part of my life - What do I do with the Gods and Goddesses that I and my people have been worshiping for millenniums. And the answer did not take much time to come. It said, they are part of your culture, love them as you have loved them before, only discard the supernaturality that you have associated with them. I did that and have never regretted it. That you can say was my moment of enlightenment.

 

[new]

Were you once a seeker, like many in this subforum, wandering from church to temple to circle to shrine, seeking your place within the tapestry of the world's religions and spiritual traditions - and some time ago you actually found that place?

What helped you find it? How did you know when you did? Was it something you were researching in five or so years ago and now you find it's part of who you are? Did you have an overnight revelation and never looked back? Did you meet someone who inspired you so that you now walk in their footsteps?

Show us seekers how you went from Seeker to Finder.

I am still a seeker. I have just found that god is the one who is always good all the time or goodness itself. Because if someone is not good at any point of time then i will not term him/ her or that energy as god so god must be full of just goodness or goodness itself.
i am trying to stay good in all moments and choosing goodness is easy which before i think choosing good is not easy but now i feel it is and its more relaxing and no tension no regrets when we choose goodness and there must be no arrogance because i feel that anything good i am able to do is by god's grace only who is source of all goodness so it makes life easy and simple. i mean being good.
there are many inspirations in my life.

 

[shunyadragon]

Just the opposite. Only God's truth can make your shoes comfortable.

The problem is many diverse people find the faith that they are comfortable with in many different beliefs than yours.

There are a lot of good "waling" verses in the Bible. Maybe the best on is I Jn 2:6 - Walk in the same manner as He(Jesus) walked.

One choice among many possible choices people may be comfortable with their need of 'sense of community' that feels right to them.

 

[Quintessence]

I'm not sure it would be accurate to say I was a seeker in the sense that is usually meant. When folks speak of "seekers" they tend to mean someone who is actively looking for an established religious tradition because they feel the need to fill the "religion" vacancy in their lives with something. I never really had that happen. I hated going to church and convinced the folk to quit making me go before I even had two digits in my age. From there, I developed my own path as I had zero interest in looking to established traditions.

There were various reasons why things happened that way. The salient one with respect to this thread was ignorance. If you think religion has to look some particular way and that theism has to look some particular way, that severely limits your field of view. You cannot seek something that is not part of your world. And in my world at that time, all religion was Christianity and there was only one god. With no other known options, I concluded religion sucked, theism sucked, and did my own thing.

It was only much later that the ignorance lifted. When that happened, I found something I hadn't been seeking. I couldn't have sought it - it did not exist in my world. But there it was all of a sudden, and it was very strange. Religions that are not dogmatic, creedal, or couched in some dusty old book from two thousand years ago? That is a thing? Gods that are nature instead of supernatural? And gods you can experience on a daily basis as undeniably there? That is a thing? Yes, yes it is. And more.

The advice that comes out of this for a seeker is this: think about what you are and who you are. Start there. Do your own thing. Forget about established traditions. The tradition finds you.

 

[arthra]

Were you once a seeker, like many in this subforum, wandering from church to temple to circle to shrine, seeking your place within the tapestry of the world's religions and spiritual traditions - and some time ago you actually found that place?
What helped you find it? How did you know when you did? Was it something you were researching in five or so years ago and now you find it's part of who you are? Did you have an overnight revelation and never looked back? Did you meet someone who inspired you so that you now walk in their footsteps. Show us seekers how you went from Seeker to Finder.

My trek began in my early teens and involved discovering the Bhagavad Gita translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood.. then practising Yoga with friends later residing in an Ashram.. still later in University studying Theravada Buddhist writings. Parallel to these endeavors being involved in the Civil Rights movement and the Peace movement of the sixties. I came to a point where I could not reject Krishna, the Buddha, Christ.. All of these prior studies and searches for me coalesced in my discovery of the Baha'i Faith in which acceptance of the spiritual and social teachings were so well stated and stressed.

 

[omega2xx]

The problem is many diverse people find the faith that they are comfortable with in many different beliefs than yours.
That fine. Walk in the most comfortable shoes you can find.

One choice among many possible choices people may be comfortable with their need of 'sense of community' that feels right to them.

That is why I walk in the shoes of conservative Christianity.

 

[Kenny]

Came from a divorced home that brought havoc in the lives of 5 children (including me) where the father was working at all times. Married a beautiful woman who came from a divorced home, alcoholic violent father who never said "I love you" and we had a go at it.

With all the luggage we carried from our childhood, 8 years later we were drifting apart as I began following my fathers footsteps... but we were seeking something to fill the hole. Given a little more time, I would have broken our vows.

Through a series of odd events (and a real short version):

1. My wife's younger sister called from Venezuela and said that every time she passed a bridge she would hear a voice saying "throw yourself over the bridge and kill yourself'. My wife responded, "Pack your bags and come to the States" to which she did.
2. A couple from Chicago with good jobs said to their pastor "We believe God is telling us to go to Florida and start a Spanish speaking church". They left their jobs and did just that.
3. Sent an invite for their opening service to everyone with a Spanish last name (only about two hundred in our County in those days ). They reached my name which is an English first name and questioned... "Should we send it to him too?". They did.
4. We would have NEVER gone to that church but because her sister was here we said, "She can talk to some people who speak Spanish".
5. We were the only ones that responded but could only stay for the first 30 minutes because of previous engagement.
6. A month later we returned and the covered Romans 10:8-10 (more people were there at that point)

They asked if anyone wanted to trust Jesus with their lives and I thought:

1. Either the Bible is true or it is false. Can't be both. I will start with the premise that it is true and test the sucker. If it is false, I will find out soon enough.
2. My life is going from bad to worse, I might as well try this road
3. It certainly won't hurt me to ask Him into my life.

My wife and her sister also raised their hands and we trusted Jesus with our lives.

Our marriage was completely transformed in 24 hours and now coming up on our 43rd anniversary.

Still testing "the sucker" and it is still holding fast to its promises.

 

[shunyadragon]

That is why I walk in the shoes of conservative Christianity.

If this true, comfort that the shoes fit and this is the only possible from the fallible human perspective than this is a weak reason to believe.

 

[omega2xx]

If this true, comfort that the shoes fit and this is the only possible from the fallible human perspective than this is a weak reason to believe.

Not at all. God the Holy Spirit has led me into the spiritual truths of God found in the Bible. He has taught me to believe in even the ones i don't understand, because God has promised to perfect what He has started in me(Phil 1:6 & Heb 12:2). My salvation is not dependent on what I do. It is dependent on what I believe.

If walking in the shoes of Bahai aren't comfortable, you need to change you shoes.

 

[shunyadragon]

Not at all. God the Holy Spirit has led me into the spiritual truths of God found in the Bible. He has taught me to believe in even the ones i don't understand, because God has promised to perfect what He has started in me(Phil 1:6 & Heb 12:2). My salvation is not dependent on what I do. It is dependent on what I believe.

If walking in the shoes of Bahai aren't comfortable, you need to change you shoes.

No different than those who believe differently.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Were you once a seeker, like many in this subforum, wandering from church to temple to circle to shrine, seeking your place within the tapestry of the world's religions and spiritual traditions - and some time ago you actually found that place?

What helped you find it? How did you know when you did? Was it something you were researching in five or so years ago and now you find it's part of who you are? Did you have an overnight revelation and never looked back? Did you meet someone who inspired you so that you now walk in their footsteps?

Show us seekers how you went from Seeker to Finder.

I have it pegged that it's not really the goal anymore, but rather the path.

Goals are simply way stations that come and go. The path is already there.

 

[omega2xx]

No different than those who believe differently.

That depends on who is walking in the right pair of shoes.

 

[DavidFirth]

 

[Jedster]

I have it pegged that it's not really the goal anymore, but rather the path.

Goals are simply way stations that come and go. The path is already there.

Indeed. I think this is what Kabir meant when he says

I am the slave of the Spirit of the quest.

 

[shunyadragon]

That depends on who is walking in the right pair of shoes.

True, but that confirms the problem 'depends,' because 'walking in the right pair of shoes' becomes an anecdotal subjective claim based more on ones culture and the desire of a 'sense of belonging' that results in many diverse choices, mostly based on one'a cultural background, and peer approval.

My search began in Roman Church high school in Costa Rica in the 60's when the Vatican II was published, and the controversy of reform in the Roman Church. I was considering priesthood in Saint Francis Order, At the same time I began to do an intensive study in comparative religions.

The first conclusion which I call my first little awakening was that an unbiased search 'truth' or validity of a religion and its teachings was not the primary motivation for the reason to believe. There was very little or no effort to understanding other beliefs, and there was a universal problem of a distorted view of those who believe differently, and the primary goal was the egocentric self justification of what one believes. My interest in science was growing, and how religions relate to science, The result was that religions were the fallible human perspective of God and the relationship with humanity and Creation. IF God exists, the nature of God is universal beyond any human perspective of 'What is God?' and 'What is Creation and Revelation?'

I accepted the possibility that God(s) do not exist, but realized that atheism itself is philosophical alternative, like all possible choices of Theism, is not based on objective verifiable evidence.

Still searching and exploring ALL alternatives, and . . . 'everything is in pencil and in reality I do not know.' As a fallible human I found it illogical and irrational to cling to any belief system that claims exclusivity especially ancient worldviews.

More to follow . . .